USGA boss Mike Whan says they will welcome LIV Golf players “with open arms” if they qualify for the US Open – and he’s proud to have so many places available for those good enough to get in.
Around half of the places in the US Open field are up for grabs through qualifiers, a fact Whan is especially proud of as he feels theirs is the “most open” of all the Majors.
That includes players who ply their trade on LIV Golf, with nine of those exempt for the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst, while a further 35 have entered Final Qualifying in a bid to join them.
“One of the advantages we have versus most other championships in golf is, a lot of other championships call themselves open but we are the most open, meaning half of the spots in the US Open are not held and are going to be filled by qualifying players,” Whan told Sports Illustrated.
“There is a good chunk of LIV players and other major winners who are already in and have played since LIV started playing and we’re proud of that.
“But there are a lot of great players on the DP World Tour, the PGA Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour, and the Asian Tours that aren’t in either and they have to go play 36 holes and try to qualify.”
Former champions Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Martin Kaymer all hold exemptions, and are joined by Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk.
Jason Kokrak and former US Open champion Graeme McDowell confirmed their intention to attempt to qualify at the same press conference Talor Gooch emphatically said he was not.
Gooch thought he’d qualified for last year’s US Open in Los Angeles before a rule change meant he missed out as a result of not being able to play in the Tour Championship.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
That’s obviously still a sore point for the 2023 individual LIV Golf champion, who is not trying to qualify for Pinehurst this year.
But even if Gooch feels unwanted, Whan insists anyone who is good enough to qualify for the US Open will be welcomed to the tournament with open arms.
“When people talk about other Majors, some of those Majors are kind of full and the only way to get in is an invite,” Whan added,
“In our case, half of our field is not only not full, it’s wide open. If you’re good enough to get in, we welcome you with open…
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